On November 18, 2016, the Committee on Enslaved and Disenfranchised Populations in Rutgers History presented its findings to the university community at an event held at the College Avenue Student Center. The event was livestreamed by Rutgers iTV Studio, and you can view the recording below:
Message from Chancellor Edwards about the event:
A year ago, I wrote to all of you announcing that the university would embark on an exploration of its early history, specifically examining to what extent our early trustees and benefactors were involved in slavery, how Rutgers came to inhabit land that once belonged to local Native American tribes and how our institution may have benefited from these realities. To achieve a fuller understanding of this aspect of our early history, I created the Committee on Enslaved and Disenfranchised Populations in Rutgers History, which has been chaired by Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of History Deborah Gray White and composed of faculty, students and staff.
I am pleased to announce that Professor White and her committee have delivered on my charge and will present their findings in an event entitled “Scarlet and Black” that will take place on Friday, November 18 from 4 to 6 p.m., at the College Avenue Student Center Multipurpose Room. A reception will follow in the adjacent Fireside Lounge. Please register for the event by emailing scarletandblack@rutgers.edu.
The committee’s work has been published by the Rutgers University Press in a book, Scarlet and Black, Volume 1: Slavery and Dispossession in Rutgers History. The book is co-edited by Professor White and Associate Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies and History Marisa Fuentes, and major contributors include undergraduate and graduate students, as well as university faculty and staff. The work roughly spans the 100 years from the founding of Queen’s College in 1766 to the designation of Rutgers College as a Land-Grant institution in 1862.
It is my sincere hope that you will join me on Friday for this important event, one that continues our pursuit of knowledge and a fuller understanding of the university we hold so dear.
Sincerely,
Richard L. Edwards, Chancellor
Rutgers University–New Brunswick